I am all visited out from Christmas, travel, visits here, hosting guests, working.....all this and this evening I finally have a few hours to spend in my studio doing what I love best....besides snuggling puppies. I fully intended to post a blog with what I had done so far on this painting right on New Years eve before our friends arrived....but I wasn't quick enough. I started...but didn't get a chance to finish it. Now here it is....some quiet time and some creative time.
I guess this is the first painting of 2011. I started it in 2010...before I left for holidays, it was all base coated and outlined but there was no room for it in little car.

"frozen aspen"
acrylic on canvas, 24" x 30"
unfinished version

I haven't decided if I'm going to use ink in this painting or not. I think I just want to paint it, even though ink would look lovely. I'll see how it looks when it gets nearer to completion. The photo has so many great highlights and shadows from the early morning light. There is no white to be seen in the photo at all and I think that is one of the main reasons I love painting winter scenes. I use white to mix colors....but never apply it directly to the painting. Naples yellow, smalt hue, permanent violet dark....all such lovely colors for painting winter scenes. It's a fair sized painting, so it's going to take a bit I think or at the very least, several pots of tea so I can finish it this evening.

Tomorrow I take the paintings to the Paint Spot so they can hang my show "Streets & Avenues". I'm excited to see how it looks altogether as some of the paintings for the show have been living in other venues up until now. Some paintings are in the chilly trunk of little car and the rest are here leaning against the walls of the studio. I had better take advantage of the quiet time to be in the studio this evening while I still have it!